It's a dangerous business, going out your door…

Inbox//Outbox

It’s been a while since I’ve talked about all the things I’ve been reading. Some of these, I finished almost a month ago! Holy cats, does time fly! I’m glad I take notes on each book I finish, otherwise I wouldn’t remember what I thought about them.

Since I last did one of these, I’ve started writing short, one paragraph reactions in a notebook every time I finish a book. I do so much reading that stories often blend together and, when I come to do these kind of posts, I forget details. I’m finding that I really enjoy processing books in this way–it helps me express my opinions and give the experience closure. In addition, I’m also adding star ratings, just for fun.

I hope you enjoy my list of recent reads! Have you read any of them? What did you think? What have you been reading lately? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!

When I reached the end of this book, I didn’t know what to do with myself. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye. I rarely give books five-star ratings, but this series was absolute perfection. All six main characters are distinct, fully, fleshed out, and deeply relatable. They feel like real people–deeply flawed and broken and beautiful–and I love them all so, so much. I can’t help being in awe of Bardugo’s planning skills–there are so many character arcs, schemes, plots, and back-stabbing… how does she juggle it all? And given how complex it all is, how the heck does she manage to pull it off?! This book sealed the deal: Bardugo is a top-notch writer and I will gladly read anything she publishes.

This YA book has been on my radar for months and I finally got my hands on a copy. It combines two of my deep loves: fairytale retellings and fandom. I found the story delightful and endearing–the plot familiar, but a comforting kind of familiar. More than anything, I was reminded of the movie “A Cinderella Story” with Hillary Duff–only with more cosplay and a pumpkin-themed vegan food truck. It was a clever, fresh retelling of one of my favorite fairytales. And, oh, how I wish that Starfield was a real show–it sounds like something I would love to watch.

This was easily one of the best YA contemporaries I’ve read in a long while. Lately, I’ve found it harder and harder to relate to that corner of the genre. This book, though, hit home in so many ways. It’s about a Christian girl who, after discovering that her mom’s cancer has returned, spends her summer as a counselor at a camp for troubled youth. There, she wrestles with her faith and learns about life, love, and friendship. The book is about growing up, discovering yourself, and allowing your worldview to grow and change. Although our circumstances are different, I deeply related with Lucy. I spent several summers camp counseling, so the exhausting pace of her days was familiar. What I love about this book is that, while Lucy questions and struggles with her faith, she doesn’t walk away from it. It’s really hard to write about faith journeys in a way that doesn’t come off as preachy and Lord handles Lucy’s journey so, so well. Her faith shifts into something new, but it doesn’t go away. The book also features a rich array of diverse characters and I adored the friendships Lucy forms. They reminded me of the friendships I forged in my own camp years. This is a book that doesn’t shy away from life’s biggest questions–it leans into hard questions, tough situations, and embraces the challenges of life. I’m thankful for books like these–books that act as mirrors to our own experiences.

It’s time for another exploration of my recent reads. I’ve been pretty spoiled by some of the books on this list–I rarely give out five star ratings on Goodreads, but there are some titles worthy of that honor in here.

Enjoy–and be sure to let me know what you’ve been reading lately in the comments!

This book has been on my radar for a LONG time–it was just a matter of getting to it. Well, I’m currently listening to it on audiobook and HOLY CRAP, HOW HAVE I BEEN MISSING OUT ON THIS? The subject matter isn’t one that immediately sucks me in (which is why it has taken so long to pick up), but dang. Once I got past the first few chapters, I was absolutely hooked. What strikes me about this book is the excellent characterization. It features a variety of characters and switches points of view constantly, but each voice is distinct. Each character is fully-realized, which makes them feel so real. Bardugo slowly unveils their stories, giving us hints and glimpses at their pasts and their ambitions with each page. It makes driving to work an absolute treat! I’m already dreading reaching the end of the audiobook, but I know I’ll be moving on to Crooked Kingdom straight away.

Gosh, WHY do I keep reading Dickerson’s books? I’ve read almost everything she’s published and, even though I don’t love her stories, they’re enjoyable. I love fairytale retellings, and Dickerson’s are subtle. After the mess that was this one, I think I might throw in the towel. Her stories are all formulaic, but the formula is definitely wearing thin. Dickerson’s protagonists are always beautiful, kind, compassionate, selfish, pious, and BORING. Her side characters have zero depth. It’s like watching paper dolls act on a puppet show stage, then fall into a puddle and crumble apart. I’m also almost insulted by how heavy-handed Dickerson is with her representation of Christianity. Female leads are always quoting scripture, praying, and longing to someday be rich enough to own a Bible translated into German. It’s as if Dickerson expects that, by making her women models of Christian femininity, that makes them good characters. Um, no.

I talked about Schwab’s first book in this series, A Darker Shade of Magic, a month ago. While I really enjoyed that book, I fell head-over-heels in love with this one. I think this might be because I listened to it on audiobook, which meant that my reading was slower and more deliberate. Schwab is excellent at world building–in the first book, she establishes the different Londons. In this book, Schwab takes a new turn. She expands the world of Red London through a magical tournament, which reminded me a lot of the Triwizard Tournament in Harry Potter. The tournament introduces the different empires and peoples, as well as expands on how magic functions and how each culture relates differently to it. Schwab also continued to establish her characters, who have nestled their way deep into my heart. Delilah Bard (who I found likable, but flighty and kind of annoying in the first book) is now making her way to my all-time favorite characters list. I’m eagerly waiting for my hold on the third book on audio to come through at the library so I can continue.

Book talk time! I’m definitely not a full-fledged book blogger. I definitely have the reading stamina, but don’t have enough drive to do all the writing. But I do love informally sharing what I’ve been reading lately. I used to call these posts Inbox//Outbox, but from here on out will just call them “What I’m Reading”. Because, really, that’s much more to the point.

Other possible title for this book: In Which Roxanne Gay Bares Her Soul. I can only imagine how much courage it took to write this book. It follows the trajectory of her life–after being sexually assaulted at the age of twelve, Gay turned to food as a comfort and safety mechanism. In this memoir, she shares the story of her life thus far and the experience of living in her body. She covers topics like sexual assault, fat shaming, weight loss TV shows, dating, etc. The writing was articulate and brutally honest. It broke my heart more than once.

This book is the PERFECT summer read! It’s a soft retelling of You’ve Got Mail, only it takes place in California with surfers and film lovers. I adored the main characters, Bailey and Porter. The whole “we are arch enemies” aspect of the plot faded pretty frequently, transitioning to “we bicker all the time because we are super attracted to each other”. The plot was predictable, but that didn’t diminish the enjoyability of the book. Sometimes, it’s absolutely lovely to sit down with a fluffy book that you can finish in a day. That book was it for me.

Things have been busy in my corner of the universe lately and, while the reading hasn’t stopped, the recording of it definitely has.

In my reading update posts, I normally do an Inbox (what I’m about to read), an Outbox (what I’ve recently finished), and sometimes add a Currently Reading section. Because I haven’t done one of these in a month or so, I’m going to switch things up and talk about all the things I’ve finished.

Over the past couple of weeks, soooo many of the books I’ve been excited for have come in for me at the library. My pile is at least ten books high. It’s a bit overwhelming, but very fun.

Currently Reading:

When I was a kid, Gail Carson Levine’s stories were some of my absolute favorites. I still read Ella Enchanted almost every year and it gets better each time. When I heard that she was coming out with another book set in the world of The Two Princesses of Bamarre, I knew I had to read it.

Currently, I’m halfway through this brick of a novel. Yes, over two weeks of listening only to this audiobook in the car has me only halfway. The pacing is pretty slow, but I know that Sanderson likes to take his time. The world building is incredible (no surprise there) and I am growing to love the interesting and complex characters. It’ll probably be a few more weeks until I read the end, but I think spending so much time in this world will only make the conclusion more satisfying.

Inbox:

I keep seeing this book everywhere and am deciding to give it a go. While it looks pretty trippy and weird, it has a high Goodreads rating. And the main character is a librarian… which, of course, is awesome.

This has been on my TBR list for ages… in a moment of weakness, I ordered the audiobook from the library. I love Sanderson’s fantasy books, but I honestly don’t know if I can handle listening to this one. It is 45 hours long–which is even longer than the Geroge R.R. Martin books I listened to earlier this year. So, while I still really want to read this book and am including it in my list this week… might not actually get to it for a while.

Currently Reading:

I haven’t touched this book since my freshman year of high school. I’m about halfway through the audiobook and it’s just as enjoyable as I remembered. Plus, Atticus Finch is the one of the best dads in literature.

Yes, I’m reading this for the third time this year. I just keep being drawn back to it. I spent a great deal of time reading reviews and analysis on various book blogs the other day and my appreciation for the story has only been growing. Is it perfect? Definitely not. But Maas impressively weaves heady subjects like mental illness and abusive relationships with the story–something that isn’t common in the fantasy genre. Plus, book three comes out in LESS THAN A MONTH and I can’t wait.

Over the past year, Rachel Held Evans has become one of my favorite Christian writers. In this memoir, she takes us through her journey as she goes from fundamentalist certainty to doubt to faith. I’m about halfway through and am loving every moment.

One of my favorite podcasts just did an episode discussing this book and it made me want to pick it up again. I haven’t read it since early high school! That was ten years ago and I’m sure I didn’t appreciate it properly. Thankfully, my library had an audiobook copy available on the shelf. I will be traveling long-distance next weekend and hope to convince my car buddy to let us listen to it.

Inbox:

I keep seeing things for this book everywhere! It hasn’t even been out a month and there is already a movie lined up. I saw that the audiobook was available through Overdrive at the library and decided to jump on the bandwagon. The book was inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement and tells the story of a teenage girl who was in the car when one of her childhood friends is shot by a white police officer. So far, although Star’s story is very different than my own, I really appreciate the perspective this book gives.

I was introduced to Nadia Bolz-Weber a few years ago and loved her book, Pastrix. She, like Anne Lamott, Rachel Held Evans, and Sarah Bessey, offer a broken and beautiful picture of Christianity. Books like these help me sort through the baggage of the fundamentalist evangelical church of my childhood. They help me stay true to my faith and grow in new directions.

Hello and welcome!

Welcome to Keep Your Feet! I’m Amelia, a Minnesotan in my twenties working as a librarian in a small town. Here on my corner of the internet, I share my love of books and adventure, with a mix of stories from my life. Feel free to pull up a chair, pour yourself a cup of coffee, and come along.

Like What You're Reading?

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.